Bardock's Tale
by triwizard17
Summary: When Bardock was supposedly killed by Frieza, he was sent to Konohagakure, where he reunites with his brother, Minato Namikaze. After Minato dies, Bardock decides to take care of his son, Naruto Uzumaki, and through Naruto, Bardock learns how to have compassion towards others. CHAPTER 4 REDONE
1. Bardock's Arrival

Chapter 1

"Oh my, what a show! Simply stupendous!" A purple and white alien cackled. This alien's name was Frieza, and he had just launched a gigantic, flaming orange ball of ki at Planet Vegeta, eliminating it along with a warrior race known as the saiyans. He did this in fear of one of the saiyans developing the legendary power required in order to defeat him, the power of the Super Saiyan. "My son lives! Kakarrot! He will be your doom!" A man with black hair that spiked in all directions roared, just before the blast hit.

Bardock woke in a cold sweat. He looked around. The room he was in was white, daylight shining through the window. He sat up, pain shooting through his body as he did so. 'I'm alive?' He wondered. The door opened, and a man wearing what looked like a doctors uniform walked through. On his head was a headband bearing some sort of stylized leaf symbol. "He's awake!" the man announced.

"Where am I?" Bardock asked the man, as several other people wearing the same uniform filed in through the door.

"You're in Konohagakure," the doctor replied.

"Konohagakure, huh? Never heard of it..." Bardock muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" the doctor asked.

"Nothing" Bardock replied.

"Anyways, you were in pretty bad shape. Your ribs and arms were broken and you had some pretty hefty lung damage as well. You're lucky to be alive," the doctor said, "Our medical ninjas are top-notch, we were able to repair most of the damage. You'll need to rest now, Mr..."

"My name's Bardock," Bardock grunted, annoyed at being stuck in the hospital, when he should be trying to find and eliminate a certain purple alien. Bardock's eyes widened, and he clutched his head. "Not now..." he muttered.

A gigantic, red fox had just appeared out of nowhere. It attacked everything in its path, killing several people. The crowd was in a mass panic. A man with brown, short, and spiky hair, wearing a white cloak bearing the kanji for 'fourth' with the standard jonin uniform under it, appeared in front of the fox, a woman with long, flaming red hair, wearing the same uniform, right beside him. Both had tails wrapped around their waists. "Kushina-kāsan..." the man with brown hair said, "You know what I have to do... I just hope Naruto-kun can forgive me for this."

Kushina nodded, "I'll miss you, Minato-chan, I just wish we could've seen Naruto-kun grow up."A man with silver hair and a mask covering his left eye appeared in front of them.

"Yondaime-sama, there have been twelve casualties and twenty others injured. The evacuation of the village is running smoothly." he said.

Minato nodded, "Thank you, Kakashi-san, go back to your post."

Minato glared at the fox. "I'll lure the fox to the sealing point. You grab Naruto-kun and meet me there."

Kushina nodded, before dashing off.

Minato made several hand seals. and slapped his palm on the ground. A giant, red toad appeared in a burst of smoke. The toad and the fox started fighting.

Time skip...

Minato made the last hand seal before putting his hand onto a tiny baby boy's belly. The fox roared in rage as a giant, transparent creature shoved the last of it's chakra into the boy's belly. Minato smiled weakly, "I hope...I...made...the right...choice...Use this power...wisely...Naruto-kun. I...wish...I had... more...time...with you." He said, as he collapsed on the floor.

Kushina stroked her husbands hair. "Heh, my time's almost up as well. I've got a few minutes left before I die too... that's the result of having the beast extracted from you. Naruto-kun, please remember to study hard, and don't let Jiraiya-sama pervert your views on women. Find a good wife...one who will stay with you no matter what." Kushina said weakly, before collapsing.

The vision ended. The doctors were staring at Bardock, unsure of what to do. The door opened, and the brown haired man Bardock saw in his vision walked. "Yondaime-sama" The doctors said, bowing.

"At ease. You can go take care of the other patients, leave us alone." Minato said. The doctors relaxed and left them. Bardock's eyes widened when he saw Minato up close. "There's no way... Nalrak? Is that you? I thought you and your wife left. Why did you settle here, of all the planets?"

Minato was shocked. "Bardock?! It's been too long! How did you get here?! How are the others?"

Bardock snarled, "They're all dead. It was that bastard Frieza, he betrayed us and destroyed our home, along with all the Saiyans. The only ones left are you, me, your wife, Kakarrot, Prince Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz. I got lucky and survived the explosion, the only reason the others are alive is because Frieza sent them away on special 'missions'."

Minato's eyes widened, "That's terrible," he said, "I never did like Frieza. I'm just glad our ships were destroyed in the crash, disabling the call-back feature on them. If our ships had come home empty, Frieza would've been pretty angry at the open defiance. He would've searched the universe for me and my wife, destroying the planets he searched after he was done. The damned scumbag..." Minato growled.

"You crash landed here? But what could happen to make a saiyan ship crash?" Bardock wondered.

"I've been wondering the same thing myself, but I'm glad I did. When we landed here, our first goal was to rid the planet of life...then our scouters gave some rather surprising readings. Readings that were higher, much higher, than Frieza's. And they were in combat" he trailed off. 'Power levels higher than Frieza's...is that really possible?' Bardock brought out his pocketed scouter, and put it on his face. He scanned the planet, but he didn't get any readings over 1000. 'He did say they were in combat...' Bardock thought. Then his scouter beeped. Bardock's eyes widened. 'TWO POWER LEVELS OVER TWO MILLION?!' he shouted in his mind. 'I-I don't want to get into a fight with these people,' he thought, 'then again, I might get the edge I need over Frieza if I train with them...' The power levels vanished almost as soon as they appeared.

"Was their something else?" Bardock asked, regaining his composure.

"You know that odd feeling that saiyans get, like they're missing something?" Minato asked.

"I've always wondered about that," Bardock admitted, "Why did you change your name to Minato?"

Minato chuckled, "It wasn't my idea. We told Nidaime-sama who we were, and he came up with the idea. My wife Barda changed her name to Uzumaki Kushina, and I changed my name to Namikaze Minato. Anyways, let me tell you a little something,

"Saiyans were born with a special ability that very few know about. This ability allows us to control two different types of energy. When I discovered this, I immediately set out to find a type of energy to master. In my search, I came across an energy known as 'chakra', which utilizes ki, along with physical energy.' " Minato said.

"Can you teach me how to use this 'chakra'?" Bardock asked.

Minato smiled, "Anything for my older brother," he said.


	2. Twelve Years Later

Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

AN: Just a little note, I know Minato said that Bardock was his younger brother, but it's actually the other way around. I might go back and fix that later. Also, I edited the first chapter to make Minato's personality a little more cannon.

_Italics are visions, flashbacks, and thoughts. _Regular text within flashbacks and visions are things that are happening in the present, or references to people in the present.

_12 Years Later_

"Alright! I'm definitely going to pass the graduation exam this time, believe it!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Easy there, don't get too carried away," Bardock smiled.

"But Uncle Bardock..." Naruto protested.

Bardock laughed, "Have fun, Naruto-kun," he said. Naruto waved goodbye, and left for the Ninja Academy.

The two were living in an apartment complex about 5 miles south of Hokage mountain. Bardock had decided to take care of Naruto after the deaths of Minato and Kushina. Living the Konohagakure had changed Bardock's life. It was hard to believe that Bardock was once a person who enjoyed causing pain to others. Not a day went by when the faces of those people he'd murdered flashed through his head. He'd had nightmares about his ventures through space on the behalf of Frieza.

Now, Bardock was a cheerful, fun-loving man who loved fighting and eating. Bardock had been forbidden from telling Naruto the truth about his parents, and why all the other villagers seemed to hate him, except for the owners of Ichiraku Ramen. Bardock didn't know how well Naruto would handle the news of having within him the very thing that had almost destroyed the village eleven years ago, one year after Bardock arrived, the Nine-Tailed Fox. Bardock had been on a mission to Sunagakure the day the fox attacked, and was shocked at the damage that had been caused while he was gone. He immediately knew what it was from, and set out to find Naruto. He raised Naruto, and he had grown to love him, like a son.

Naruto was a mirror image of his father, with short, spiky brown hair, a tail wrapped around his waist(most people thought it was a belt, and Naruto preferred to keep it that way) and bright blue eyes. The only difference were his whisker marks.

Bardock closed his eyes, and a vision of the future enveloped him once again.

_Naruto had stolen what looked like a large scroll. He was running through the forest to find a place to learn a jutsu from it. He finally found a clearing and started studying._

_Meanwhile, the village was in a panic. Iruka had gone after Naruto, and Mizuki was nowhere to be found._

_Mizuki laughed softly to himself. He had managed to convince Naruto to steal the Forbidden Scroll, promising to allow him to graduate if he succeeded. Mizuki had no intention of keeping his promise, as a matter-of-fact, he hated the Uzumaki brat and wanted him dead more than anything. If all went well, he would kill Naruto and steal the Forbidden Scroll, learning everything he could from it. He went to the rendezvous point he had set up with Naruto._

_**Time Skip**_

"_No, don't tell him! That's classified information!" Iruka yelled._

_Mizuki laughed, "I can say what I want. Naruto, the reason that everyone hates is because you have within you the same Nine-Tailed Fox that attacked our village and killed Iruka's family! You're a monster!" Mizuki laughed, before pulling out a shuriken and throwing it at Naruto. Naruto closed his eyes, expecting the shuriken to embed itself into him. However, when he opened them again, he was shocked to find Iruka standing in front of him, the shuriken embedded in his back._

_Naruto's eyes widened, "Iruka-sensei..." he said softly._

"_Why Iruka did that is beyond me. Only an idiot would protect a demon like you. You're both disgraces to this village!" Mizuki exclaimed angrily._

_Naruto balled his fists. "You can call me whatever you want," he snarled, "But don't you EVER say a word against Iruka-sensei!"_

"_Don't be a fool, Naruto-kun... run while you still have the chance!" Iruka groaned._

"_No way! I'm going to kill that guy for what he did to you!" Naruto snarled._

"_No! You'll get yourself killed!" Iruka snapped._

_Naruto smirked, "Allow me to show you a new jutsu I've learned," he said, making a 't' shape with the pointer and index fingers of both hands. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he yelled. The two chunins' eyes widened, the same thought running through their heads, 'impossible!'. There was a puff of smoke, and hundreds of Narutos were surrounding Mizuki._

"_Incredible,"Iruka whispered, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu is a pretty advanced technique. How was Naruto-kun able to master it in such a short amount of time?"_

_Mizuki was being pummeled by Naruto. In what seemed like no time at all, Mizuki was on the ground in an unconscious, bruised heap. Naruto was standing tall._

_**Time Skip.**_

_Naruto was walking home. He stopped however, when he heard Iruka's voice from his right, "Naruto-kun, come over here!" Confused, Naruto turned to see Iruka waving at him, grinning from ear to ear. Naruto ran over to Iruka. Iruka ruffled Naruto's hair and said, "I'd like to give you something. Close your eyes, it'll be a surprise," Naruto grinned and did as he was told. Iruka untied his headband and put it on Naruto's forehead. "Okay, open up," Iruka grinned._

_When Naruto opened his eyes,he noticed that Iruka wasn't wearing his headband. "Where's your...?" he asked. His eyes widened as he realized what Iruka had given him. Naruto felt his forehead, his hand meeting cool steel. "Iruka-sensei..." he mumbled tearfully. Naruto then grinned and hugged Iruka. "Thank you!" he said happily._

"_As of today, you are officially a gennin," Iruka said. "Now, what do you saw we go eat? It'll be my treat," he said._

Bardock's eyes opened. He smiled happily, proud of his nephew.

_With Naruto_

Naruto had just finished his written exam. Thanks to Bardock's instruction, he had managed to learn enough to pass that part of the exam. What Naruto was _not _looking forward too was the transformation and clone jutsus. Those were the two that he had the hardest time with. After the instructor had collected the papers, he announced that it was time for the lunch break. "Be back at the academy in one hour," he said.

Naruto started walking to Ichiraku's, thinking about a conversation he had with Bardock.

"_Why am I not allowed to use ki, Uncle Bardock?" Naruto asked._

"_Because everyone thinks that ki users are extinct. If word got out that you and I can use ki, it would be troublesome, to say the least." Bardock said._

"_What do you mean by that, Uncle Bardock?" Naruto said_

"_We would be invaluable assets to the Hidden Villages. They would try everything to get their hands on us, to gain the edge over the others. It would result in a war, and that's the last thing the Hokage needs on his plate." Bardock replied._

Naruto turned the corner, finally arriving at Ichiraku's. "Hey Naruto-kun! What would you like today?" the owner asked him.

"I would like ten bowls of miso, ten bowls of pork, and ten bowls of beef!" Naruto replied happily.

"So the usual, then?" the owner asked.

"Yep!" Naruto grinned.

As it turned out, the owner had already made the ramen. It took Naruto about thirty seconds to down all of it. The owner watched him, shaking his head. "That's Naruto-kun for you," He chuckled softly.

"Thanks for the grub, old man!" Naruto grinned, dashing back to the academy.  
"Hey! How many times have I told you...? Oh, nevermind. It's impossible to stay mad at him for very long." The owner sighed, picking up the money Naruto left on his stool.

After the exams were over, Naruto started walking home, his head down as he had once again failed the exam. He stopped, however, when he noticed someone in front of him. "Mizuki-sensei?" he asked.

"Hey Naruto-kun!" Mizuki smiled, "If you do a little something for me, I can pull some strings and you can become a ninja, what do you say?" he asked.

_After the events of Bardock's vision_

Naruto and Iruka had decided to stop by Ichiraku's for dinner. Iruka was telling Naruto about his family, and Naruto was listening intently. Naruto was eating slowly this time around, so that he could spend more time with his sensei.

"My mother was one of the sweetest women in the world. It was impossible to get her angry, and with some of things I did growing up, that was pretty lucky for me." Iruka laughed. "Anyways, what's your uncle like?" he asked.

"My uncle's amazing!" Naruto grinned "He's taught me a lot of things, if it weren't for him, I never would have passed the written portion of the gennin exams. He's pretty smart, and a fun person to be around, too! I can't wait to tell him that I'm a gennin now!" he exclaimed, excited.

"I better get going. It was nice talking with you, Naruto-kun," Iruka said, ruffling his student's hair.

"Yeah, it was pretty cool getting to learn more about you, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed happily.

"Be at the Academy tomorrow morning, we're going to be assigning squads." Iruka said.

"I'll be there! Believe it!" Naruto exclaimed, excited.


	3. Naruto's Squad

Chapter 3

_Italics are visions, flashbacks, and thoughts. _Regular text within flashbacks and visions are things that are happening in the present, or references to people in the present.

Bardock was sound asleep when Naruto got back home. He sighed, _I was out pretty late. I can't wait until tomorrow, when I tell him the big news! _Naruto grinned.

Bardock's dreams were filled with small bits and pieces of several different visions.

"_My name is Trunks, and I'm from the future." a boy with purple hair said to a man that was a mirror image of Bardock, except this man didn't have a scar across his left cheek like Bardock did. '_

"_How do I put this...? Naruto-kun, Jiraiya's dead." An apparently young woman with long blond hair was saying to an older Naruto, who was dressed in a black and_

_orange gi. She had a very pained look in her eyes when she saw Naruto break down and start crying. "Ero-sennin.." he muttered under his breath._

"_Our objective is to find Sasuke Uchiha and bring him back to the village! Follow the plan I've laid out, and we should be good to go." A lazy looking chunin yelled to a group of gennin, one of which was Naruto._

"_He said...he'd...kill my father if I didn't do as he said, but he killed him anyway. Kalarrot... Frieza turned me into what I am... don't let him do it to anyone...else" a very weak and bloodied Vegeta said, laying on the dirt ground, tears streaming down his face._

"_You're arms are useless. Ninjutsu will be forever out of your reach." The third Hokage said weakly, to a man with pale skin and snake-like eyes. The man hissed with rage. _'

_Naruto, Kakarrot, Prince Vegeta, Raditz, Piccolo, Bardock, along with several others that _Bardock _didn't recognize, were fighting people who were wearing black masks and suits of armor._

Bardock sat up immediately. He took a deep breath. That dream had left him with lots of questions. He looked at the clock, which read 8:30. Bardock had gotten a call from Iruka telling him that Naruto needed to be at the Academy by 10:00.

Naruto sat up and stretched his arms, yawning. "What time is it?" He asked tiredly.

"8:30," Bardock said with a smile.

"Ok." Naruto didn't look tired anymore. He got out of bed, beaming like a little kid on Christmas morning. "Guess what, Uncle Bardock?" Naruto said, bouncing up and down.

"You're a ninja." Bardock said.

"How did you..?" Naruto asked.

"You forgot to take your headband off." Bardock said with a small smile.

"Oh." Naruto muttered. Naruto then looked at Bardock, a pained expression on his face. "Why didn't you tell me about the demon inside of me, Uncle Bardock?" he asked.

Bardock sighed. "Sandaime-sama gave a strict order not to talk about when the village was attacked eleven years ago, one year after I arrived here. Those who didn't follow it were put to death. It's the reason I'm not allowed to talk about your parents..." Bardock clenched his fists, tears threatening to run down his face.

Naruto looked furious, "Just because we're not allowed to talk about it doesn't mean it didn't happen! Why didn't he want me finding out that I have a monster inside of me?! Why?!" He snarled.

"I don't know, Naruto. I just don't know," Bardock sighed heavily.

"I have two more questions," Naruto started.

"Fire away," Bardock said.

"First, will this demon affect my use of ki at all?" Naruto asked.

Bardock looked shocked. "Wow, you're actually asking something smart?" he wondered.

"I'm not stupid, you know," Naruto said crossly.

"I'm just saying..." Bardock said, holding his hands up in defense. "Okay. I don't know if the fox's chakra will affect your usage of ki at all. The fox's chakra is most likely connected to your chakra network, leaving the ki network alone. Of course, I could be wrong, I'm not sure."

Naruto nodded. "Okay. You've mentioned that you have a son named 'Kakarrot' Will I ever get to meet him?" he asked.

Bardock smiled. "You'll be seeing him soon." he said mysteriously. "You should get going, Naruto," Bardock said.

Naruto looked at the clock. "It's 9:30, and it takes about fifteen minutes to walk there. Perfect!" Naruto grinned.

Naruto closed the door behind him, and started descending down the stairs. He took a deep breath, then started walking towards tha Academy. Naruto arrived at the Ninja Academy at about 9:45. He was greeted by a boy in a gray coat, a dog on his right shoulder. This boy had red lines painted under both of his eyes. "Hey, this meeting is only for people who passed the exam, not losers like you. Scram!" He said, the dog barking in agreement.

"For your information, Kiba, I did pass the exam! Do you not see this headband?" Naruto yelled at him, pointing at his forehead. Kiba started in wonder, then burst out laughing.

"So they let you in, huh? I bet it was because they felt sorry for you. We all know how terrible your clones are." Kiba laughed.

"Allow me to show you..." Naruto grinned, making the symbol for his Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled, the room filling up with his clones. Kiba looked around, shocked. Naruto released the jutsu, smirking.

"What a drag..." a lazy looking boy with spiky black hair pulled back in a ponytail yawned from the back of the classroom. "Can you please not be so loud?" he asked.

"Sorry, Shikamaru-kun," Kiba muttered sarcastically.

"I hope I'm in the same squad as Sasuke-kun..." a girl with short pink hair sighed dreamily.

"I'm going to be the one with him, you baka!" another girl with long, blond shouted.

"You wanna go, Ino-pig?" the pink haired girl exclaimed

"You know I'd win, billboard brow," the blond haired girl smirked.

"CAN IT!" An overweight boy with red swirls painted on his cheeks shouted furiously.

Arguments had broken out across the entire room. The only ones not in some sort of argument were Naruto(surprisingly), Shikamaru, A kid wearing sunglasses and a white coat with a collar that covered his mouth, a kid with black hair wearing a blue jacket that had on the back of it the Uchiha clan symbol, and a shy, blue haired girl wearing a tan coat.

Iruka walked into the room, not at all surprised to see the chaos within. He looked around, expecting Naruto to be right in the middle of it. However, to his surprise and delight, Naruto was actually sitting down, not talking to anybody. Iruka cleared his throat loudly, catching everybody's attention.

"First thing's first, let me congratulate all of you on passing the gennin exams. Well done!" Iruka said, clapping his hands enthusiastically. "We're here today for one reason, and that is to assign squads. Who can tell me why ninja are assigned to work in squads?" Iruka was shocked when Naruto raised his hand. "Yes, Naruto-kun?" Iruka asked.

Naruto took a deep breath. "We work in squads, usually comprised of four ninja, because it makes it much easier to complete missions. Each squad usually has a medical ninja and a tracker ninja. Teamwork skills are essential when working in squads, and you learn those as a gennin." he said confidently. The class was left in a stunned silence. "When did Naruto become smart?" Kiba asked, speaking the question on everybody's' mind.

"That was one of the things my uncle drove into my head..." Naruto said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"Okay... as Naruto-kun said, we work in squads to make missions easier. Since you are gennin, three of you will be in a squad under a jonin. When you become a chunin, you will go on different missions with different people, depending on the needs of the mission." Iruka said.  
Naruto waited as Iruka called out names. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity...

"Team Seven: Uzumaki Naruto!" Iruka called out. Naruto stood up. " Uchiha Sasuke!" The boy in the blue jacket stood up. Naruto growled silently, but didn't say anything. "Haruno Sakura!" the pink-haired kunoichi stood up, giving Ino a triumphant look. Ino scowled in response, but didn't say anything. Naruto grinned.

After the rest of the squads were called out, the gennin slowly filed out as several different jonin claimed their squads, leaving Squad Seven as the last three gennin waiting.

Naruto grinned immaturely. "This is what that jonin gets for making us wait!" he grinned, putting an eraser in the door, positioning it so it would fall when the door opened.

"A jonin would never fall for a stupid prank like that!" Sakura laughed.

"Sometimes the best method is the most simple one." Naruto replied.

"Yes but sti..." Sakura was interrupted as the door opened, a certain white-haired jonin walking through it, getting hit in the head by the eraser. Naruto grinned. "Told you so! That should teach you to not be late!" he said. Sakura groaned.

"So you must be the idi... I mean gennin I've been assigned to teach. My name is Hatake Kakashi. Follow me." the white haired jonin said.

The three gennin followed him to a clearing near the edge of the village. "Alright," Kakashi said, "Let's start with getting to know each other. Each of you will say something that you like, something that you don't like, and a hobby or a dream. As for me, there aren't many things that I like, I don't particularly dislike anything, and I have several hobbies." he continued. "Let's go with Naruto next."

"I like my Uncle Bardock!" Naruto grinned, "I don't like bad milk... I've had that stuff before, and it does _awful _things to you.." Naruto shuddered, "And I want to be Hokage! I'll be the best Hokage ever!"

"Okay, what about you, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

"I plan to restore my there is a certain someone I'm going to kill. These aren't dreams, because I plan on making them a reality." Sasuke said with a cold, steely expression.

Naruto shook his head sadly. He knew all about Itachi Uchiha, thanks to his uncle, and he also knew that a desire for revenge only created more problems.

"Okay. Sakura?" Kakashi said.

"I like..." Sakura blushed, glancing at Sasuke. "My hobbies are..." she blushed again, glancing at Sasuke. "And I hate Naruto!" she growled, glaring at him.

'_I can't believe this girl...' _Kakashi thought, giving an exasperated sigh.

'_She only thinks about Sasuke! And she hates me, which isn't good for the team. Things are going to have to change...' _Naruto thought, groaning mentally.

"Your first training exercise is tomorrow morning, at seven. Don't eat breakfast, or you'll puke." Kakashi said lazily, getting shocked looks from the three gennin.

"I'm home, Uncle Bardock!" Naruto shouted, closing the door behind him.

"Naruto! I was wondering where you were...I've prepared a special dinner for you!" Bardock's voice rang from the kitchen. Naruto grinned, and ran to the kitchen.

The whole place was filled with all of Naruto's favorite foods. Bardock was standing in the middle of the kitchen, grinning from ear to ear. "When did you learn to cook?" Naruto asked in shock.

"Your father taught me. He was best chef on Planet Vegeta before he left." Bardock answered, grinning.

The two saiyans downed all the food in ten seconds flat. Naruto and Bardock were cleaning when Naruto decided to tell Bardock the days events.

"...and then it's Sakura's turn to talk, and let me tell you, she's obsessed with Sasuke! She kept blushing and glancing at him," Naruto said, "She also hates me," he added.

"Seems you've landed yourself in quite an interesting squad," Bardock grinned. He suddenly grew serious, "Do you feel that?" He asked Naruto.

Naruto nodded. "What is it? That power level is _massive..._Nothing we can't handle, but it's a _ki _level, not a chakra level..." he trailed off.

Bardock hissed with rage. "Frieza," he replied.


	4. The Bell Test

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

AN: It has come to my attention that I did a pretty horrible job with battle between Frieza and Bardock. This re-uploaded version should fix most of the issues. Also, one level of Super-Saiyan is approximately equal to about one-third of the power or three tails, of the Nine-Tailed Fox

Italics are visions, flashbacks, and thoughts. Regular text within flashbacks and visions are things that are happening in the present, or references to people in the present.

"Heh. There aren't any power levels over one-thousand. This is going to be a piece of cake," Frieza smirked, floating over Konohagakure, the village's lamps burning brightly in the night sky. "I wonder, should I kill them in one blast, or should I go slowly and force them to suffer? Decisions, Decisions..."

In Naruto's Apartment

FRIEZA'S HERE?!" Naruto shouted.

Bardock nodded, his eyes filling with rage. "I'm not letting him touch you!" He trembled with rage. For a moment, Bardock's hair turned gold, the color turning normal a split-second after. His hair color continued fluctuating, and violent winds started ripping through Konohagakure. Finally, Bardock's hair turned into a vibrant, golden color, his eyes a sort of steely green. The winds that were ripping through Konoha suddenly stopped.

"I wonder what Frieza will think when he sees your power level on his scouter," Naruto said.

"He won't be able to detect a thing. I've learned a few tricks that will make sure of that," Bardock stated.

"What was that?" Frieza frowned. He took a look at his scouter. "There aren't any high power levels...must have been a freak storm. Oh well, back to killing!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Frieza," a new voice said behind him. Frieza turned around to see Bardock.

"Who are you?" Frieza demanded.

"You should know me, after all, you murdered all my friends and family! You killed my wife, you tried to kill my son..." Bardock shook with rage, "YOU KILLED ALL OF MY FRIENDS, AND YOU'VE COME HERE TO DO IT AGAIN! IF I HADN'T SNUCK MY SON OFF OF PLANET VEGETA HE WOULD HAVE DIED! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!". Bardock screamed.

"So you're a filthy little monkey," Frieza smirked, "Soon you're going to be dead monkey,"

"I'm not a 'filthy monkey,' I'm a Saiyan Elite! As a matter of fact, I've become what you fear the most! I'm a Super Saiyan!" Bardock said.

"Impossible! Your power level doesn't even show up on my scouter!" Frieza laughed.

"That's because my power level is too high for your little toy to even try to calculate," Bardock smirked.

"Very funny," Frieza said, amused, "I'm going to enjoy wiping that smug look off your face,"

"You won't even be able to touch me," Bardock said smugly.

"Confident, aren't we, you filthy monkey?" Frieza taunted.

"The time for talk is over!" Bardock shouted.

"For once we agree on something. Let's fight," Frieza said. Frieza's eyes widened in shock as he felt a punch to the jaw. He didn't have time to retaliate as Bardock kneed him in the gut, then clenched his fists together, hammering Frieza into a nearby mountain.

"YOU FILTHY..." Frieza was cut short as Bardock appeared in front of him and once again kneed him in the gut.

"I can't believe I have to transform to face the likes of you..." Frieza muttered, he started changing shape, going straight into his final form, which looked like a white lizard with a purple helmet-like thingy across his scalp.

"You think a power increase that tiny will help you against me?" Bardock said incredulously.

"I'll show you miniscule! My power level is over fifty times that of what it was in my original state," Frieza said angrily.

"So you mean I'll actually have to start trying?" Bardock said innocently.

"WHAT?!" Frieza yelled.

"You heard me!" Bardock said. "First..." Bardock ripped off his armbands and leg-bands.

"What will that do?" Frieza laughed. He was cut short when Bardock dropped the bands, each making a crater that was about two meters deep and five feet across.

"You were saying..?" Bardock prompted.

"How much did those things weigh?!" Frieza shrieked.

"About five tons each," Bardock said, resisting the temptation to laugh at the look on Frieza's face.

"And for your information, Frieza, there are several beings on this planet who could easily tear me apart. It was a bad decision on your part to come here!" Bardock said, thinking of the tailed beasts along with several ninja that he'd met in his time here.

"NO! I AM THE STRONGEST IN THE UNIVERSE!" Frieza cried out arrogantly.

"Please," Bardock snorted.

"THAT IS IT! THIS PLANET IS DONE FOR!" Frieza snarled, flying up into the air and and making a gigantic ball of flaming, orange ki. Bardock recognized it as the attack that had decimated planet Vegeta. Frieza released the ball, smirking as it apparently killed Bardock, his smirk quickly vanishing as a look of horror replaced it. Bardock flew up into the air, holding the orange ball with his ki and smiling like it was the easiest thing in the world.

"NO! THAT ATTACK IS MY BEST MOVE!" Frieza screamed in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, is this yours?" Bardock asked mockingly, "Here, you can have it back!"

Bardock threw the ball of ki at Frieza, who screamed as he was killed by his own attack, his body falling limply to the ground.

"I guess that means that Kakarrot won't have to fight Frieza!" Bardock said happily.

Almost all of the villagers had gone out of their houses, gathering near Hokage mountain and watching the fight in awe.

"Who is that guy?"

"I don't know, but he certainly fits the description of the Yellow Flash of the Leaf..."

"But he's dead! There's no way that guy is the Yellow Flash!"

"There could be some relation between them..."

"Yeah right!"

Bardock immediately flew away, finding a safe, secluded spot to transform back to his original state, picking up his weights along the way, wondering why on earth he had even bothered to take them off. The crowd was too busy arguing to notice that he wasn't there anymore. After several minutes of arguing, the crowd dispersed, finally noticing that Bardock wasn't there anymore.

"That was so cool, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed as soons as Bardock walked through the door.

Bardock laughed, ruffling Naruto's hair, "Go to sleep, Naruto! It's pretty late, I'll wake you up early for breakfast,"

"But Kakashi-sensei told us not..." Naruto began

"You are a Saiyan, which means that missing even one meal would be seriously detrimental to your performance throughout the day," Bardock interrupted. Naruto grinned and did what his uncle asked of him.

True to his word, Bardock woke Naruto approximately thirty minutes before he was supposed to meet Kakashi. Naruto had a very quick breakfast, comprising of thirty bowls of cereal, and ran down to meet Kakashi.

Sakura and Sasuke got there at about the same time Naruto did. Sakura spent most of the time glancing at Sasuke and blushing furiously.

The trio stood in silence for about two hours before Kakashi finally decided to show up.

"WHERE WERE YOU?! YOU TOLD US TO BE HERE AT SEVEN, YET YOU DIDN'T SHOW UP UNTIL NINE!" A certain pink haired kunoichi screeched, causing everyone else to plug their ears in fear of losing their hearing.

"I got lost on the road to life," Kakashi said lamely, uncovering his ears for a brief moment before...

"THAT'S NOT EVEN A DECENT EXCUSE!" Sakura screamed.

"I called you here for training, did I not?" Kakashi said, uncovering his ears along with Sasuke and Naruto. "This is a survival test. If you fail, you get sent back to the Academy, no questions asked, is that understood?'

"BUT THEN WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THE GENNIN EXAMS, DATTEBAYO?!" yelled a furious Naruto, causing Sasuke and Kakashi to wince at his tone.

"To weed out those that don't have what it takes to be a ninja," Kakashi stated emotionlessly, "Follow me,"

Kakashi led them to a clearing on the outskirts of Konoha. "Your test today is simple," Kakashi held up two silver bells, "If you can grab these from me before two in the afternoon, you pass,"

"But there are only two of them!" Naruto yelled.

"That's right, only two of you can pass this exam. The third will be tied to a pole, forced to watch the others eat lunch, and then sent back to the academy," Kakashi said coldly.

The three gennin stared at Kakashi, eyes wide open with shock. "So that's why you had us skip breakfast..." Sakura muttered.

Naruto folded his arms impatiently. "Can we get on with it already, dattebayo?" He asked furiously.

"For once, I agree with the dobe," Sasuke muttered.

"What did you call me?!" Naruto snarled.

"What, can't take a little insult, dobe?" Sasuke smirked.

"Just you wait, teme! I'm going to be Hokage someday, and I won't let some stupid test get in my way, dattebayo!" Naruto declared.

"Alright, everyone, settle down!" Kakashi said, "Your test has officially begun," he pulled out a book, and started reading it. The title of the book was Icha-Icha Paradise.

"PUT THAT BOOK DOWN! WHY IS A JONIN LIKE YOURSELF EVEN INTERESTED IN THAT GARBAGE, DATTEBAYO?!" Naruto yelled furiously. The other two gennin took this opportunity to hide.

Kakashi gave no answer, a red tinge appearing on his cheeks as he giggled silently.

Naruto took a deep breath, calming himself down using one of the meditation exercises that Bardock taught him. He opened his eyes, and disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

'That was a kage bunshin?' Kakashi thought, shocked, momentarily lifting his gaze from the book, 'But where's the real one?'

The real Naruto was watching silently from the bushes, smiling as the clone's memories poured into his mind. 'I might be able to use that to my advantage when training...' he thought, 'There's some hidden purpose behind this test, but what is it?'

'He may act lazy, but when it comes down to it, he's still a jonin...I'll have to be careful,' Sasuke thought, watching from a bush about twenty meters to the left of Naruto.

'Sasuke-kun...' Sakura thought dreamily, watching Kakashi from the trees.

'They've all hidden themselves pretty well. Naruto-kun's chakra has even been suppressed, the others could do better though,' Kakashi thought.

'Time to act!' Sasuke thought, leaping out of his bush and charging Kakashi, kunai in hand. Kakashi didn't even close his book as he fended off Sasuke's attack, knocking his kunai into the grass. Sasuke threw punches and kicks, trying in vain to hit the jonin, who didn't even have to close his book to defend from Sasuke's attacks.

Sasuke leaped back, making several hand seals. Kakashi's eyes widened, recognizing the sequence, horse, serpent, ram, monkey, boar, horse, tiger. Sakura and Naruto recognized it as well.

'Sasuke-kun's so cool, to know an advanced jutsu like the fireball...' Sakura sighed.

'Uncle Bardock did say the Uchiha clan specialized in fire and lightning style jutsu...' Naruto thought, unsurprised.

'No way! A new gennin can't have enough chakra to pull off a jutsu like that!' Kakashi thought, as Sasuke reached the last hand seal.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted, making a hole with his thumb and pointer finger, blowing a stream of bright, orange flames through it, which Kakashi was easily able to dodge.

'There are only two bells,' Naruto thought, 'There are three of us, but only two bells. It doesn't make sense that only two of us have to pass, there's something fishy about... OH! I've got it, dattebayo! How could I miss something so obvious as that? But there's no way Sasuke or Sakura would agree to work with me as a team; Sasuke's too arrogant, and Sakura...I don't even want to get started on her, harping on and on about how Sasuke is so great,' Naruto snorted, 'If you knew I could fly and use ki... "

Sasuke retreated, finding a different hiding spot, about 30 meters to the right of Naruto. ' Just as I thought, the head on approach won't work, now if I set up some sort of trap...' he thought.

'If Sasuke-kun couldn't do it, then I don't stand a chance! ' Sakura thought gloomily, silently observing from her hiding spot.

"Psst! Sakura!" Naruto's voice whispered through the trees.

"Go away, baka! You'll give away my location!" Sakura whispered angrily.

"I've figured out the point of this exercise... you, Sasuke, and I have to work together to obtain the bells!" Naruto whispered, making sure to stay out of sight

"You baka! There are only two bells, meaning that only two of us can pass! That's going to be me and Sasuke! There's no way I'm working with you!" Sakura hissed back at him.

Naruto sighed, "Don't say I didn't warn you." he whispered, releasing the clone that was talking with her.

The real Naruto groaned mentally. 'She's so...GAH! I hope I can convince Sasuke...'

"Sasuke!" Naruto's voice whispered, making sure to stay out of sight.

"Go away, dobe! You'll give me away!" Sasuke snapped quietly, working furiously on a trap for Kakashi.

"There's a hidden purpose behind this test," Naruto's clone started.

"What do you mean 'hidden purpose?! As far as I can tell, all we're trying to do is get the bells..." Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"Oh come on! Don't tell me that the Academy's top student can't figure out something as simple as this?! You don't see it?" Naruto smirked.

"What do you mean, dobe?" Sasuke demanded, making sure to keep his voice down.

"You do remember what I said when Iruka-sensei asked why we work in squads, right? The last little bit?"

"You said that squads learn teamwork as gennin..." Sasuke said.

"That's right! What do you think the purpose of this test is, dattebayo?!" Naruto exclaimed, keeping his voice soft.

"HAH! If you think I'm going to work with you, dobe, then you truly are a dobe. I am the last Uchiha, you are nothing compared to me. I am an avenger. I work alone. Becoming a ninja is merely a stepping stone to my goal," Sasuke said.

"You mean Itachi Uchiha?" Naruto asked quietly.

Sasuke was stunned, "How do you know?!" he demanded.

"My uncle," Naruto stated softly, "Revenge is only going to lead to more problems, Sasuke. Believe me, you don't want that kind of life. Think about it! Once Itachi's dead, what purpose will you have? What kind of life will you lead? Do you really want to become so full of hate that words such as 'kindness' and 'friendship' become foreign to you? Do you?!" Naruto asked,

"What I do is of no concern to you, dobe!" Sasuke said angrily.

"You're not the only one who's had a difficult past, teme! Before I graduated from the Academy, villagers everywhere treated me like trash. Their eyes, usually full of kindness and compassion, turned into cold masks full of nothing but hatred whenever I walked by. I was often the victim of mob beatings, sometimes barely getting away with my life. There was only one person who I could talk too, and that was my Uncle Bardock," Naruto said, a sob escaping from his lips as he told Sasuke his story.

Sasuke's inner thoughts were conflicted, 'How could someone like him have suffered so much? Is this the reason he's the class clown, to draw some positive attention to himself? No matter, he's still a dobe. But still, his tale is so much like mine, yet so different. Maybe I was wrong about him. I'm not going to work with him any time soon, though!'

"Just go away!" Sasuke said, his voice cracking. Sasuke heard the distinct pop of the shadow clone getting released.

'Did I finally get through to him?' the real Naruto thought. 'I don't want you to go down the path you're heading down, Sasuke! It will take some time, but I can save you...'

Unbeknownst to them, Kakashi was observing Naruto's interactions with Sasuke and Sakura. 'Wow! Naruto's actually figured out the true purpose of this test! He's a lot smarter then he lets on, I think he might actually have a shot at becoming Hokage! He also managed to crack the wall Sasuke's put up around himself a tiny bit,' Kakashi thought, pleasantly surprised.

Sakura burst from her hiding spot and charged at Kakashi. Kakashi turned, casually catching all of her punches.

Sasuke burst out next, throwing a kunai at Kakashi, who dodged was surprised when the kunai turned into Naruto, who attempted to reach for the bells. Kakashi caught his hand and threw him towards the lake.. Naruto managed to regain his balance, shocking everyone by walking on the water.

"When did you learn how to control your chakra like that, Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"My uncle taught me about two months ago," Naruto stated.

"WHEN DID YOU HIDE YOURSELF IN MY WEAPONS, DOBE?!" Sasuke yelled furiously.

"During our little discussion, teme," Naruto's clone smirked, the real one emerging from his hiding spot as the clone vanished in a cloud of white smoke.

"Bardock-san is really good at chakra control...I should have guessed," Kakashi muttered, "But as for now, time is UP! Not one of you has managed to get a silver bell, and only one of you has figured out the true purpose of this test!" he exclaimed. "Neither of you listened to Naruto as he tried to get you to work to with him! Sakura ignored him, thinking only of herself" Sakura cast her eyes down, ashamed. "and Sasuke... Sasuke dismissed the notion of teamwork, thinking it beneath him to work with someone else!" Sasuke's face remained expressionless, "Yet... you three have potential. You have passed this exam, and you will start your first mission next week." Kakashi said.

The three gennin were shocked. "We passed? Why are you passing us? Especially me? I didn't do anything except watch!" Sakura exclaimed.

"With training, I have a feeling you three can become some of the finest ninja Konoha will have to offer. Your first mission will be one week from today. Dismissed!" Kakashi said. The three gennin went their separate ways.

'The real reason I passed them was to keep a closer eye on Sasuke and Naruto...' Kakashi thought, 'The three of them do have potential, like I told them, but I'm worried about Sasuke, and Naruto already knows how to manipulate his chakra to walk on water... and what was with that weird belt Naruto was wearing? I've never seen anything like it...'

"I'm home!" Naruto shouted, closing the door behind him.

"Hi, Naruto-kun! I'm in my room, I'll be out in a sec," Bardock's voice rang from upstairs.

Naruto tackled Bardock in a tight embrace as soon as Bardock came down the stairs.

"Whoa! Easy there, what's got you so excited?" Bardock asked, standing up.

"My squad passed Kakashi-sensei's test!" he exclaimed.

"Really?" Bardock said.

"He told us that we have potential, and that we could become some of the village's finest ninja!" Naruto beamed.

"I have a surprise for you, Naruto-kun," Bardock said, changing the topic.

"What is it? What is it?" Naruto asked, beaming and bouncing up and down.

"I'm going to teach you a new jutsu, to congratulate you for passing Kakashi-san's test!" Bardock said enthusiastically.

"What jutsu?!" Naruto asked, bouncing even faster.

"It's called 'Rasengan'," Bardock said, watching Naruto bounce off the walls.


	5. AN Plus Preview of Original Work

**Author's Note: I've been really busy with college and life in general, so I haven't been able to write much. Don't expect updates regularly, though I will try to finish the stories on my account. I apologize for the lack of updates, and I promise that I ****_will _****write when I have the time! Thank you for your patience! NOTE: THIS IS A PREVIEW OF AN ORIGINAL WORK. THIS IS NOT IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM RELATED TO THE STORY,**

_The Cursed and Lucky Stars appeared after the Great Emperor started his reign over a thousand years ago. It is said that He brought them, Cursing some and Blessing others. However, I am not so sure of that fact._

CHAPTER 1: BETRAYAL

"There are legends. Stories of a time before the Great Emperor. It is said that there weren't any born under the Stars. The animals were allowed to roam without a Herder to reign them in."

Leona smiled as she spun her tales of the past. Casa loved to hear the stories of the years before the Great Emperor.

"It is time to sleep, child. You need to rest, and it is getting late." Leona whispered.

Casa knew the streets quite well. They were dangerous, something she was aware of more than most. She was, after all, Cursed, a half noble-half commoner mix. She wasn't fit to serve in any of the different factions of the government.

Casa was barely a teenager. She had an older brother, Kaiser and her mother. She didn't know anything about her father. Whenever Casa brought him up, Leona would stiffen and change the subject.

Casa woke early the next morning, soft sunlight barely visible through the cloth canvas of the tent. Kaiser was gone, likely raiding some noble's house for food and money. She frowned. Her brother never took her on raids. He insisted that it was too dangerous. So Casa took up pickpocketing.

Leona was still asleep. Her breathing was somewhat relaxing to Casa.

"Casa?"

Casa turned. "Hi, Jay." she grinned.

Unlike Casa, Jay was an orphan, adopted by Leona about a month before Casa's thirteenth birthday.

"Do you have any plans for today, Casa? I've heard that Gadel is out shopping at the moment, not too far from here." Jay said.

Casa grinned, "One of the highest ranking nobles, coming down into the streets? That's just asking for trouble."

"Are you really going to...?"

Casa nodded. "Why shouldn't I? He's a noble, after all. He's one of the more unsavory ones. I've heard stories, you know."

"Stealing from a man like that is dangerous, though!" Jay protested.

"You shouldn't have told me about his little shopping trip if you didn't want me to pickpocket him." Casa smiled, lightly punching Jay in the arm.

"Honestly...the things you do could get you executed." Jay sighed.

"If I didn't do them, we would die of starvation." Casa said quietly.

"Kaiser's raids don't provide enough money for us?" Jay asked, amused.

Casa scowled, "He should take me with him! I can handle raiding noble homes!"

Jay shook his head. "Kaiser cares about you, Casa. He doesn't take you because he doesn't want to see anything happen to you."

"But still..." Casa began

"That's enough of that, Casa." Jay said.

"Let's go. Gadel isn't going to stay in our turf for long!" Casa grinned, abruptly changing the subject.

"I'm not coming." Jay said.

"Yes, you are!" Casa insisted.

"I don't want..." Jay was interrupted as Casa seized his wrist and dragged him off towards the shopping area, grinning from ear to ear.

* * *

"There he is!" Casa said, pointing at a man wearing a deep red suitcoat.

"You're really going to go through with this." Jay shook his head.

"You bet I am!"

Casa crouched and made her way through the crowd. Her footsteps became quiet and she was able to make her breath inaudible. She reached Gadel, carefully and quickly reached inside of his pant's pocket. She felt some paper brush against her skin. Casa smiled, pulling her hand out, in her fingers was a note for five hundred bordos. Enough for Casa and her family to survive for another month.

"How'd it go?" Jay asked when she got back.

Casa held up the money she'd retrieved.

Jay frowned. "He really carried that much on his person? In an area like this?"

Casa nodded. "Why? What's..." she stopped when she saw the look on Jay's face.

"Pakdor." he whispered.

Casa paled. "Where?" she asked.

Jay pointed. Sure enough, five cloaked men, each bearing the symbol of the Pakdor, were heading straight towards Casa and Jay.

Jay and Casa bolted through the crowd.

"You really shouldn't have stolen from him!" Jay yelled, panting.

The two turned down a random alleyway. They watched with baited breath, waiting to see...

The men with the Pakdor cloaks didn't bother to stop to look down the alleyway. Jay let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"You're lucky I was here." a new voice said from behind them.

Casa and Jay jumped, whipping around to face the newcomer.

"Who are you?"Casa asked.

The newcomer smiled, "A friend." he said, "You should go. My distraction won't hold them for long."

"Thank you, um..." Jay trailed off.

The man grinned, "My name is Liever! Now go!"

Casa and Jay bolted towards where Leona was waiting. However, when they got there, the tent was empty.

"Leona must be shopping." Jay sighed, sitting down on the floor.

"You're right. She'll be back." Casa said, attempting to reassure herself.

"There's a note!" Jay exclaimed, standing up and retrieving it from the center of the tent.

" _By order of the Pakdor, Leona Dawn has been arrested for spreading rumors that could potentially incite rebellion. Her execution will be at sunrise." _Jay read, blood draining from his face.

"No..." Casa whispered.

"Her stories of times before the Great Emperor...the Pakdor would really execute someone for talking about those times?" Jay whispered.

"Yes. They would."

Casa and Jay turned to see Kaiser, his face grim.

"Do you know what this means? It means that we're in danger as well. The Pakdor have a habit of executing the families of criminals." Kaiser said.

"You think we don't know that?" Casa asked, tears forming in her eyes.

"Casa, please don't cry. You're going to make me cry too..." Jay trailed off.

Kaiser watched his two siblings in silence, his face stoic. "You need to get out of here." he said.

Jay nodded, then grabbed Casa by the wrist. He charged out the exit of the tent.

Only to find that they were completely surrounded by Pakdor.

"Very good, Kaiser. You have done well. Well enough, I think, to earn a position within the Pakdor." The one in the front said.

Kaiser emerged from the tent, his expression triumphant.

"This...has to be some sort of joke." Jay whispered.

"No. Not Kaiser. He wouldn't..." Casa gasped, her voice cracking.

"I'm not the brother you used to know, Casa. I am no longer Cursed." He grinned ferally.

"Why?" Jay said, "You're our brother, Kaiser! Why'd you betray us like this?"

Kaiser shook his head. "True I was your brother. However, I wasn't so fond of mom. The way she talked about the times before the Great Emperor, it disgusted me. He is our King! We don't talk about what was and what could have been!"

The Pakdor moved to arrest Jay and Casa. Casa grabbed Jay and bolted.

"It's no use. You can't run from the Pakdor."

Casa stopped, her eyes wide with shock. The man had just _flown_. He'd landed right in front of Casa.

"There's no hope for your escape. You Cursed don't have any power whatsoever." The Pakdor man stated matter-of-factly.

Casa's heart was beating rapidly. Jay's expression was terrified.

They were about to be killed.

Casa's heart began to beat faster, and she felt something rise within her chest. She didn't know what it was, but she instinctively called out to it, like she knew it would help her.

The Pakdor's eyes widened. "No. She can't...there's no way! Only certain nobles are granted that ability. A half-blooded freak can't have it!"  
Casa glanced down at her feet, or rather, where her feet were. She turned to look at Jay, who was nowhere to be seen.

"Where are you two? You can't have gone invisible! You can't have!" The Pakdor yelled.

Casa felt something else rise within her chest. She called on that, too. Suddenly, she could see Jay. The Pakdor, however, still couldn't see either of them.

The Pakdor cursed, running off, muttering something about reinforcements.

Casa felt someone grab her around the wrist. Before she could do anything, the man yanked her and Jay behind a nearby wall. The man was wearing a cloak, his hood up, so that his face was covered.

"Follow me." the man ordered. Something about his voice was familiar to Casa and Jay.

Casa and Jay didn't protest. The man led them to what looked like a run-down inn, the letters on the sign had faded enough that it was impossible to read. One of the windows was broken, and the others were clouded with dirt.

"Go inside. You're not invisible anymore, so they can see you." the man said quietly.

Casa and Jay didn't move. The reality of recent events were starting to sink in. Their mother was going to get executed. Their brother had betrayed them. Kaiser was gone...

"_I've got money to buy us food! You don't need to worry about starving this week!"_

"_Come on, Casa! I'll race you to the bridge!"_

"_Jay, protect Casa for me, would you?"_

"_I'm here for you, Casa. You can cry on my shoulder, it's alright."_

Casa put her head in her hands and wept, tears cascading down her cheeks, sprinkling the pavement with tiny droplets of liquid.

Jay put a hand on her shoulder, his expression mirroring that of Casa's. "Let's go inside." he offered gently.

Casa shook her head. "I don't trust him." she said.

Jay swallowed, "Come on, Casa. It's a better alternative than waiting out here to be caught and executed." he said, his voice thick..

Casa nodded, "Fine. But only because you're going to be there."

Jay turned away from Casa, not wanting her to see his tears.

"You two coming?" the hooded man asked softly.

"Yeah. We're ready." Jay swallowed.

The man threw the doors open. They were greeted with a crowd of about twenty or thirty people, all talking and laughing.

"Welcome to my crew, the Gale Force." The man smiled.

"Hey! Liever is back!" somebody yelled.

"Who're the kids?" someone else's voice rang out.

Liever held up his hand. The crowd instantly quieted.

'_This man has a lot of influence over these people.' _Jay thought, impressed.

"These two are brother and sister, and their family was killed by the Pakdor not even an hour ago. Mack, would you mind showing them to the vacant room upstairs?"

Mack looked like he could be a giant. Jay could have used one of his muscles as a bed, and he wouldn't have to worry about falling off or even having enough room to toss and turn.

Jay and Casa followed Mack up the stairs. He lead them to the fifth door on the right, the last room before the hall ended.

Mack gestured for them to go inside, "You will sleep here, as Guild Leader has instructed." his voice was deep and slow.

It didn't take long for the two foster-siblings to fall asleep. They were both exhausted from the day's events. And Jay had a feeling that it would only get worse.


End file.
